Zim's Haunting
by ZimmyCakes
Summary: After moving into a suburban house with his husband, Dib, Zim begins to experience weird and odd happenings around the house.
1. The First Encounter

Chapter 1: The First Encounter

It's been eight years since Irken Zim landed on Earth, set on destroying it for his masters, The Tallest. But that was before he learned the truth.

Thanks to a nosy paranormal investigator, Dib Membrane, the human was able to gather some exquisite information and reveal the harsh truth to the outcasted alien.

After discovering that his mission was all a lie, Zim stopped being an invader and, quite shockingly coincidental, fell in love with the human that helped him see the truth in the first place.

Dib accepted the Irken's feelings, returning them himself, and the two were now a happy couple.

Now, at the age of twenty and married, the two were ready to move and start a new life together. Of course, they couldn't leave Gir and Minimoose behind, so they took them with them as they blew up Zim's old base and moved into a suburban house together.

"This house is amazing!" Zim gasped as he stared at the decor.

"Do you really like it?" Dib hoped.

"Dib, I LOVE it!" Zim giggled, jumping into his husband's arms as the human spun him around, giving him a full kiss.

"I'm so glad that you like it." Dib laughed as he set Zim back down. "It costed a lot you know."

"You shouldn't have payed so much, Dib." Zim frowned. "We could've easily just made a living in the base."

"Are you kidding? I want to give you the best life possible, and we're not gonna get that in a house filled with more bad memories than good memories." Dib disagreed.

"Yes, well, I guess you're right." Zim sighed, then smiled. "I'm really glad you did this, though."

Dib smiled before kissing the Irken on his head.

"I'm glad too."

Zim giggled before a clock suddenly went off in the living room. The hour marked 10:00 p.m.. Dib sighed before looking at Zim.

"You know what that means." He sighed.

"Yes, yes Dib, of course I know what it means." Zim smiled, rolling his eyes. "You go to work. I'll be fine right here, with Gir and Minimoose. Even if the two are already in bed."

"Ok then." Dib nodded before kissing him again. "I'll see you in the morning."

"Put some souls to rest tonight!" Zim chuckled as he waved his husband goodbye.

Dib waved back before driving the Voot Cruiser, disguised as a Subaru, to work with his paranormal investigation team.

Zim smiled and closed the door, heading into the living room. Gir and Minimoose were in bed, and Dib had just left for work. It was the perfect opportunity for the Irken to catch up on his favorite show.

My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic.

What? There's nothing wrong with being a Brony!

Zim was sitting on the couch, watching his show. He was halfway through season six, episode four, when he suddenly heard a noise down in the basement.

He paused the show and listened, straining his antennae to hear anything strange. He heard nothing.

Shrugging it off, Zim unpaused the show and continued watching. Five minutes later, he heard the noise again, like somebody slamming a door close.

Zim growled and paused the show again. He stood up and went to the basement, opening the door. He was about to go down the stairs to see what was going on, but then, something stopped him.

The air felt heavy. He could hardly breath. His nerves told him that if he went down there, something was going to happen.

Gulping, Zim ran back to the living room and grabbed one of Dib's cameras. He went back to the basement, and started recording.

"I think my house is haunted. Uh, we just moved here. Me, my husband Dib, and our two robots, Gir and Minimoose." Zim gulped as he walked down the stairs, recording everything. "Uh, something weird was just going on down in the basement here. I'm all alone. The robots are asleep, Dib just left for work a bit of an hour ago, and I'm hearing noises down here."

Zim turned on the light, but there was nothing there but some of Dib's old equipment from when he tried exposing Zim for being an alien.

"Um, the reason why I'm recording is, well, because I wanna make sure I'm not going crazy." Zim nervously chuckled. "This is a suburban house, there is no reason why this should be happening!"

Zim walked further into the basement. He turned a corner towards the laundry room. He couldn't see it, but in the lens, a girl in a white dress and her black hair covering her face, stood on the other side of the door. Quickly, she slammed the door shut, making the Irken jumped.

"That's it! That's the noise I heard!" Zim growled, running up to the door and opening it. "Hello? Is there anybody in here?"

Zim spun around the room, trying to find any evidence of somebody in the room, but there was nothing.

"This is pretty freaking weird." Zim shivered, running out of the room.

As he walked out of the room, he was surprised to see the girl appear in his lens in the corner of the basement. Zim jumped and looked again, but the girl was gone.

"Please tell me you saw that." The Irken whimpered.

Zim spun around the room, trying to see if he could find the girl again, but there was nothing. Zim shook his head and ran back to the stairs.

"Nah, I'm outta here, dude!" He whimpered, running up the stairs. "Ain't no way I'm coming back down here again!"

When Zim got back upstairs, he went to the living room and sat down on the couch, the camera still recording him.

"That was really messed up." He sighed. "Now, time for the ultimate question… should I tell Dib about this?"

Zim sighed as he stopped the recording. He sat there on the couch, wondering if he should explain to his husband what he just experienced.

But, what HAD he experienced? A couple of noises? A girl appearing in the lens for a moment? That really wasn't evidence of a haunted house. Noises and slamming doors could just be the house settling and a draft going across the house. And the girl, it could've been easily a trick of the light.

Zim came to a final conclusion to not tell anyone about this. But he was sure going to be recording everything that happens to him from now on.


	2. The Doppelganger

Chapter 2: The Doppelganger

Three days had passed since Zim's first encounter with the hauntings. Nothing has happened since then, and the Irken was starting to calm down a little. Maybe it really was just his imagination.

Zim was in the living room, unpacking some movies into the shelf. It was the midnight hour. Dib had left for work two hours ago, and the robots were once again in bed, once again, leaving the Irken alone. He was just putting away the last dvd, when he suddenly heard stomping right next to him.

He quickly turned to his right, and noticed that the sounds were coming from the stairs. He approached the stairs cautiously as the stomping continued, sounding like someone was coming down the stairs. Suddenly, the sound stopped at the last step, and after a few seconds, the sounds ran back up the stairs.

Frightened, Zim grabbed the camera and started recording.

"Okay guys." He breathed nervously. "I had to grab the camera because, I was just sitting here, putting some movies away, and something came running down the stairs, stopped at the foot… and then ran right back upstairs, and there was nothing there. I'm here by myself again. This is really weird. Hopefully I can get it on camera. It's been three days since something like this happened."

The Irken cautiously approached the stairs, scared out of his mind, the camera shaking in his hands. Suddenly, the footsteps were heard again, running down the stairs, and then stopping right at the last step.

"You see, there's no one there, there's no one there." Zim shivered.

Zim looked up the stairs to see if someone may be playing a joke on him, but there was nobody there.

"Hello?" He called. "Is there somebody up there?"

There was no answer.

"Gir? Minimoose? Are you guys trying to scare me?"

Suddenly, a voice sounding like a demonic child spoke to him. He couldn't understand what it was saying, but it scared him so badly that he stumbled backwards away from the stairs, the camera shaking in his hands.

In his fall, the camera swayed from the stairs to the kitchen. It caught a glimpse of the ghost girl on the stairs and then in the doorframe, but when the camera swayed again, the ghosts were gone.

Zim stood up and looked around the room, desperately trying to find any threat in his house. He gave a small whimper, finding nothing in the room.

"Why does this always happen to me?" He whimpered before turning off the camera. "Now what do I do? It's obvious this place is haunted now, but why? And why am I the victim?"

Zim didn't understand. How could they have moved into a haunted house and Dib didn't know anything about it? He's a paranormal investigator for crying out loud!

Zim sat on the couch in the living room, wondering what he should do next. Of course he was going to keep recording the events, but he didn't want to be alone anymore, now that he knew for sure there was some entity in the house.

"I can't tell Dib." He sighed. "He put so much into this house… but… maybe I can tell Gir and Minimoose, and they can stay up with me from now on."

So it was decided. When Dib got back home at 2 in the morning, he wouldn't be told a thing, but from now on, Zim would refuse to be the last one awake.


	3. The Lost Soul

Chapter 3: The Lost Soul

The next morning, before anybody got up, Zim snuck downstairs to the office to go over the recording he took last night. As he looked over the video, he jumped when he saw the ghost appear in two places at once.

He whimpered and closed the video, not wanting to watch anymore.

"Good morning Master!" A voice behind the Irken screamed into his antennae.

Zim screamed and jumped away, turning around, ready to attack. But he sighed when he saw that it was only Gir that had greeted him. Minimoose was floating next to him, and both were wearing a chef's toque as Gir stirred what looked to be pancake batter.

"You scared me half to death, Gir!" The Irken frowned at the robot. "Don't ever do that again!"

"Sorry Master, I didn't mean to scare you." Gir frowned. "I just wanted to know how many pancakes you would like."

"None, Gir, I'm not feeling very hungry this morning." Zim sighed as he sat back on the couch, staring at the stairs, waiting for whatever happened last night to happen again.

"Meep." Minimoose squeaked to him.

"Of course I'm feeling alright, Minimoose, why would you ask such a thing?" Zim raised an eyebrow.

"Meep."

"Jumpy? What do you mean I've been a bit jumpy?"

"Meep."

"Just… trying to get settled in on the new house is all."

"Meep."

Zim sighed. Minimoose was right. He has been a bit jumpy since the first night he encountered the ghost girl. And now he was feeling even worse after what happened last night. Zim sighed and turned to his robots.

"Can you guys keep a secret?"

"Ooh, a secret!" Gir squealed excitedly. "What's the secret?"

"Meep." Minimoose urged.

"Wait!" Zim held up his hands. "You have to promise not to laugh, or tell Dib. Do you understand."

"Yes sir!" Gir saluted, his eyes turning red for a moment.

"Meep!" Minimoose also saluted.

Zim looked around, as if making sure that nobody was eavesdropping or anything. He turned back to the robots and spoke very lowly.

"I think our house might be haunted." He whispered.

"Why would you think that Master?" Gir frowned.

"Meep." Minimoose agreed.

"Well, it kinda started on the first night we moved in." Zim explained. "I was hearing noises down in the basement, and I admit I was a little frightened, so I took one of Dib's cameras and went down in the basement to investigate. But when I got down there, there was nothing there. But then a few moments after, the camera picked up a figure of a girl in the corner of the room, but when I looked again, she was gone."

"That's not really evidence of a haunted house, Master." Gir sighed.

"Meep." Minimoose agreed.

"That's what I thought too, Minimoose." Zim nodded. "Until what happened last night."

"What happened last night?" Gir asked.

"Something was running up and down the stairs last night." Zim answered, nodding to the stairs. "There was no person that I could see, but when I started recording, the camera picked up the ghost girl again in two places at once. One at the bottom of the stairs, and one in the doorframe in the kitchen. Also, I heard a demonic voice speaking to me last night."

"No offence Master, but I find that kind of hard to believe."

"You don't believe me." Zim was shocked, his eyes turning glassy in disbelief. "You really don't believe me?"

"Sorry Master, but nobody else has experienced anything weird happen to them."

"That's because for some reason, the ghost only likes to mess with me." Zim frowned. "I can show you the videos if that'll make you believe me."

"Meep." Minimoose sighed.

"What do you mean 'Editing', Minimoose?" Zim frowned at the moose. "You're saying that I made the videos myself? Guys, why would I make this up?"

Suddenly, Dib came running down the stairs, fully clothed and looking frantic.

"Dib?" Zim frowned in concern. "What's wrong?"

"I just got a call from the team," Dib explained. "One of our teammates was possessed by the demon we investigated last night. I knew there was something wrong when that EVP said 'your God can't help you now'!"

"Oh my god!" Zim gasped. "That's terrible!"

"I need to get down there fast to help with the exorcism, otherwise we may never be able to help her again."

"Well then go! Don't let us stop you!" Zim rushed, pushing his husband through the kitchen and out the door. "Just be careful, okay?"

"I will." Dib nodded as he went to the Voot Cruiser. "I'll be back soon. Love you."

"I love you too, Dib."

With that, Dib drove away to help save his teammate. Zim waved goodbye before closing the door and going into the kitchen, where Gir and Minimoose were still making breakfast.

"I hope he can save her in time." Zim sighed as he sat at the table.

"Come on Master, you know he will." Gir smiled assuringly. "Dib never gives up. You know that."

"I guess you're right." Zim sighed, then frowned. "But back to what we were talking about earlier. You seriously think I would make up a story about our house being haunted."

"Not this again." Gir sighed exasperatingly.

"Gir, I am really surprised at you." Zim frowned. "I can't believe you don't believe your master!"

"You're just stressed, Master." Gir sighed as he poured the pancake batter onto the pan, making four pancakes. "You're still upset about the Tallest lying to you all these years, and you're stressed because you're worried about what might happen to Dib while he's at work. You're probably worried that he'll get possessed just like his teammate did."

"That's not it, Gir." Zim hissed. "I know what I saw, and I'm going to prove it!"

Suddenly, a loud bang resonated through the house. Zim, Gir, and Minimoose looked at each other, unsure of what to think of the noise.

"What was that?" Zim gulped, shrinking into the chair he was sitting in.

"Nothing, Master," Gir rolled his eyes. "Something probably fell upstairs. Minimoose, can you go check it out?"

"Meep." Minimoose nodded before floating upstairs.

A minute later, Minimoose came back downstairs, looking very uneasy.

"What is it, Minimoose?" Zim asked him.

"Meep."

"What do you mean 'there was nothing wrong'?" Gir frowned. "Something obviously fell upstairs."

"Meep." Minimoose shook his head.

Another minute went by and another bang rang through the house, followed by a loud thud and a creak.

"Okay, Gir," Zim glared at the robot. "I don't care WHAT you say, but there is something in this house, and I am going to catch it. I'm getting the camera and I am going to record what is going on right now. Maybe then you'll believe me."

With that, Zim ran into the living room and grabbed the camera, coming back to the kitchen and started the recording.

"Weird stuff just happened this morning." He said to the camera. "A lot of bangs and thuds have been ringing through the house, especially in this area. This area, I've been hearing it the most. And, I'm not the only one who's experiencing this now. My two robots, Gir and Minimoose are here with me this time, and they've been hearing it too."

"I'm telling you, it's nothing paranormal, Master." Gir sighed. "It's just the house settling."

"My robots are in disbelief that there's something going on, but they'll see the truth soon." Zim frowned. "I'm not really expecting much right now, just been hearing a lot of weird things right now. Um... my husband just left a little while ago, there's nobody upstairs, as Minimoose just went to check just a little while ago. But um... yeah, just hoping I can get something on tape."

Suddenly, another thud resonated through the house, sounding like it just came from upstairs or the basement door. A creak rang through the room, like someone was walking upstairs or opening the door.

"It sounds like it's coming upstairs or from the door." Zim shivered. "The door really freaks me out after the first night."

Suddenly, much to the three's dismay, the ghost leaned out from the wall in the living room, looking at the three of them.

"Oh my god!" Zim gasped as he for some reason began approaching the girl to get a better recording.

"Master, don't approach her!" Gir gasped.

But Zim did not listen and continued walking towards the girl. The girl retreated back into the wall as the Irken got closer. When Zim turned the corner, she was gone again.

"Dang it!" Zim hissed. "I wanted to get a better recording of her."

"Meep." Minimoose squeaked in disagreement.

Zim looked around the room with his camera, trying to find the girl again, but he saw no sign of her.

"Are you going to do anything else?" He asked the silence. "More bangs perhaps?"

Only silence answered back. Zim huffed and stopped the recording.

"I got you this time, ghost." He frowned. "And I'm going to find out why you're doing this."

Suddenly, Zim remembered why he was recording in the first place and he turned back to his robots, his arms crossed.

"Do you believe me now?" He hissed.

"Yes Master." Gir sighed sadly. "We believe you now."

"Meep?"

"I don't know Minimoose." Zim sighed. "She's just some random girl that's been haunting me for some reason. She seems shy, but I don't really know."

"Maybe we should tell Dib."

"No!" Zim gasped. "No Gir. Do not tell Dib anything!"

"But Master, he's a paranormal investigator." Gir assured. "Maybe he can help."

Zim sighed and crossed his arms. Maybe his robot was right. Maybe it was time to tell him.

"You're right, Gir." He finally sighed. "It's time to tell him. I'll tell him tonight."


	4. The Night Terrors

Chapter 4: The Night Terrors

That night, Zim, Gir, and Minimoose sat together in the living room on the couch, waiting for Dib to get home. It wasn't until 6:30 p.m. when Dib finally came home, looking absolutely exhausted.

"Oh, thank goodness you're finally home." Zim sighed with relief. "I was so worried that something went wrong."

"Something did almost go wrong." Dib nodded. "We didn't anticipate how strong the demon was. It was strong enough to levitate. But, we were able to get rid of it."

"Well, I'm just glad everything turned out alright in the end." Zim smiled.

"I decided that we should get a few days off for everyone to recover from that." Dib nodded, then smiled. "Also, it gives me a chance to spend some time with you."

Zim blushed and smiled sheepishly, looking down at the floor as his husband rubbed his cheek passionately. Dib smiled and kissed the Irken's lips, Zim kissing back.

"How about we go out for supper tonight?" Dib suggested when they pulled apart. "I'll pay."

"That's really sweet of you, Dib." Zim giggled. "Where should we go?"

"Anywhere you want, babe." Dib smiled. "You pick."

"Well then, how about Olive Garden? We can get a table outside under the stars?"

"It's not even nighttime yet." Dib laughed.

"You know what I mean." Zim laughed back.

"Very well then, Olive Garden it is."

Zim chuckled before he and Gir putted on their disguises. After that, the four of them left the house to head to Olive Garden. As the Voot Cruiser started, Zim cautiously looked back at the house.

It looked so much more eerie with it being so dark and looking so empty, especially if you knew what was haunting inside.

Dib looked over to his husband and frowned, seeing how uneasy he looked.

"Zim?"

"Yes, Dib?" Zim looked back at his human.

"Are you okay?"

"Of course I am, why wouldn't I be?"

"Well, it's just that you're looking at the house very uneasily." Dib frowned. "Is there something wrong?"

Zim blushed and looked down. He knew he said that he was going to tell Dib about what was happening to him, but now he wasn't so sure. What would his husband think of him if he found out that he was scared of an apparition of a girl?

"Tell him, Master." Gir pressed.

"Tell me what?" Dib frowned. "Zim, what are you hiding from me?"

Zim sighed and looked back at Dib, his eyes glassy with tears.

"Dib, just start driving away, and I'll tell you everything on the way."

Dib nodded and started the Voot Cruiser, driving away from the house.

As they drove to Olive Garden, Zim went on to explain what happened since they moved in. Dib was absolutely shocked when he heard the horrifying experience his Irken has been dealing with. He was even more shocked with himself, not believing that he did not notice something wrong before.

"Zim, I am so sorry that you had to go through that." He apologized as he stopped the Voot Cruiser in front of the restaurant. "I promise, we're going to figure out who this child is, and put her to rest."

"Thank you Dib." Zim smiled, then frowned. "But I think this ghost is my responsibility alone. She seems to appear only when I'm around. She only messes with me. For some reason, she has targeted me, and I need to figure out why."

"Are you sure?" Dib frowned. "I am a paranormal investigator after all. I can help you."

"No Dib." Zim shook his head. "She's my responsibility alone. I can handle this myself. Trust me. When I need your help, I'll ask for it, okay?"

"... Well... alright." Dib nodded. "But, please, be careful."

"I will." Zim nodded.

That night, after a nice meal at Olive Garden, Zim and Dib were getting ready for bed. Gir and Minimoose were already asleep in their own bedrooms, so it was just the married couple awake now.

Dib was laying in the bed, watching the Irken hook up a camera in their direction.

"What are you doing?" He asked him.

"I'm setting up a camera because I feel like something is going to happen while we're asleep." Zim answered, turning to the human. "You don't object, do you? Because if you do, I can take it back down."

"Not at all." Dib shook his head. "If it makes you feel safe, hook it up. That's all I care about. Is your safety."

"Thanks Dib." Zim smiled, turning back to the camera. "Okay, just gotta turn on the infrared, and we should be good to go."

So Zim turned on the infrared and started the recording. He left the camera and crawled into bed with Dib.

"Let's see what happens." The Irken yawned, snuggling up to his human.

"Hopefully nothing." Dib yawned, cuddling back. "Goodnight Zim."

"Goodnight Dib."

And so, the two fell asleep cuddling up to each other. For a while, nothing disturbed their slumber. Everything was calm and quiet. Suddenly, at 2:30 a.m., stuff started happening.

Silent stomps ran through the room, surprisingly not waking the sleeping couple. Something threw a hat off the wall and onto the bed. A picture frame fell off the wall, hitting the carpet flooring. The closet door suddenly opened, and then slammed itself shut, finally waking the human and the Irken.

"What was that?!" Zim whimpered, darting his head around the room.

"I don't know." Dib frowned. "Let me turn on the light."

Dib reached over to the lamp on the bedside table and switched it on. The two were surprised, and a little bit frightened to see the hat on the bed and the picture off the wall.

"It had to have been the ghost, Dib." Zim gulped fearfully. "She's trying to mess with us."

"Well, she hasn't done anything harmful so far." Dib shrugged, picking up both objects and putting them where they belong. "I think she's just trying to have a little fun. Come on, let's go back to sleep."

Zim nodded and laid back down, curling up to his husband when he got back into bed. Dib turned out the light, and they both went back to sleep. It was calm for another few hours, but then, at 4:27, more things started happening.

The closet door opened again, but this time, it stayed open. The lamp then began to slowly slide off of the bedside table, as if someone or something was pulling on it by the cord. It fell off the table and silently hit the floor. There was a childish giggle as the ghost girl slowly rose from the floor, looking down at the sleeping couple.

She stood there and stared, seemingly directly at Zim. She lowered back into the floor when the time changed to five.

She had been standing there for a full half hour, just staring at Zim.

The Irken was certainly not going to like this when he wakes up in the morning.


	5. The Meaningless Horror

Chapter 5: The Meaningless Horror

The next morning, Zim and Dib woke up and took the camera downstairs to the office. They plugged the camera into the computer and began watching last night's recording. They were horrified when they witnessed the ghost rise from the floor and just stare at the sleeping couple.

"What is she staring at?!" Zim shivered, entranced by the ghost just standing there.

"I don't know, Zim," Dib shook his head. "But I don't like it. She shouldn't be staring at us like that. It's incredibly creepy."

"It is indeed." Zim agreed. "I really need to figure out what her deal is. Time to start doing some research."

"Well, I'll leave it to you then." Dib nodded, getting up. "If you need me, I'll be in the kitchen, helping Gir with breakfast."

"Alright, I'll just be here doing research."

Dib nodded and left, reluctantly leaving Zim alone. Zim sighed and sat at the computer, starting his research on the house and the ghost girl. He was sitting there for only a few minutes, when he suddenly heard a tapping sound in the room. He pushed himself away from the computer and looked around, trying to find where the tapping was.

The sound sounded like it was coming from above him, so he looked up, and his antennae perked forward and his face puckered in surprise when he saw Dib's giant black fossil rocking back and forth on its pedestal.

"Oh dear lord!" Zim quickly backed away, keeping his eyes on the heavy fossil. "Dib! Get in here! Now!"

Rushed footsteps were heard coming from the kitchen as Dib came running into the room.

"Zim? What's wrong?" He asked quickly, running up to the frightened Irken.

"Your fossil is moving." Zim pointed, not taking his eyes off the rock.

"Oh my god." Dib gasped when he saw the fossil rocking back and forth. "Quick, get as far away from it as you can."

So, the two of them slowly backed away from the fossil, watching it as it continued to rock. When they were fully on the other side of the room, the fossil suddenly stopped rocking and stood still, as if nothing happened at all.

"Okay, that was incredibly weird." Zim frowned as he pulled out his camera. "Like, is she TRYING to hurt somebody now?"

"I know right, because like, that fossil is really heavy." Dib agreed.

"I'm gonna try and get this on camera, see what happens." Zim nodded and started the recording. "Alright, so it's 10:16 in the morning. I was sitting here on the computer, Dib and the robots were in the kitchen, and I kept hearing a tapping sound. And I couldn't figure out what it was until I looked up onto this bookshelf, and this fossil, Dib's fossil, was rocking back and forth on its pedestal. And it really worried me because I know how heavy this thing is, I had to help move it in."

"Yeah, it's really heavy, it could really hurt someone if they were underneath it." Dib agreed.

"But, I'm recording to see if I can catch it doing it again, or maybe it'll fly off the shelf." Zim shivered.

"Now if it does that, we are both getting out of this room as fast as we freakin' can!" Dib demanded. "I'm not gonna let anyone get hurt by some ghost!"

Suddenly, a couple of books went flying off the shelf, making the Irken jump back.

"Okay, maybe the fossil won't go flying off but the books sure will!" Zim blinked.

"Is this the first time you had something thrown at you?" Dib asked as he slowly approached.

"Yeah, it is."

Zim slowly began panning the room, trying to see if he could catch a glimpse of the girl. Suddenly, the girl appeared on the other side of the room, but when the Irken looked again, she was gone.

"Dib, I just saw a glimpse of the girl on the other side of the room."

"What?"

"Yeah, right over there, by the door."

Slowly, the two approached the area, looking behind the couch and behind the door, still recording.

"There's nothing here, Zim." Dib frowned, then looked back over to the books. "Oh. My. God."

"What? What is it?" Zim asked, turning around to look at the books as well. "Oh dear lord!"

Somehow, without the two noticing, the books that fallen off the shelf were piled neatly on top of each other, right in the middle of the floor, with the bible on top.

"This is new." Zim gulped, approaching the books slowly. "All of this is new."

"Zim… turn off the camera."

"Just, piled on top."

"Turn off the camera, Zim."

Zim raised an eyebrow at his husband before he turned off the camera, stopping the recording.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"I don't want you recording anymore." Dib answered, taking the books off the floor and putting them away.

"What? Why?"

"Because if this is all new, then the ghost is obviously starting to get more violent. I don't think she likes you recording her." Dib answered, looking back at the Irken. "I don't want anything to happen to you. So please, promise you'll stop recording?"

Zim wasn't sure if what Dib was saying was true. It was just a little girl. What harm could she do? But still, Dib was a paranormal investigator. He knew what was best about the paranormal. He sighed and nodded.

"Okay Dib. I promise. No more recordings."


	6. The Attack

Chapter 6: The Attack

Three days had gone by. Zim had completely stopped recording his experiences, just as Dib had asked. Not that he had anything to record anyway. Ever since he stopped, there had been nothing going on. Zim and Dib were sure that the ghost had gotten bored when she realized Zim wouldn't be recording anymore, and decided to move on on her own, much to the boys' relief.

It was midnight, and Zim was sitting on the couch in the living room, watching a new show called The Bedfellows. Dib had gone to work, and the robots were out dancing at some club Gir liked to go to, so the Irken was all alone.

He was contemplating whether the jackalope character, Fatigue, was a boy or a girl, when he heard a bone chilling scream ring through the house. The Irken shivered and shook, frozen on the couch as the screams continued.

Oh, he so badly wanted to grab the camera and start recording now, but he had promised not to. The screams continued through the house, frightening the Irken even more. He tried his best to ignore the screams, keeping his attention on the show. The screams only got louder the more Zim ignored it.

Zim grabbed a pillow and pressed his face into it, pulling on his antennae, trying to block out the sound.

After fifteen minutes, the screams finally stopped. Zim lowered the pillow and released his antennae, cautiously looking around the room.

Suddenly, footsteps could be heard coming down the stairs. Zim slowly got up and approached the stairs to see what was making the sound.

The footsteps were slow and eerie, the sound repeating every two seconds. The footsteps stopped at the last step, but there was no one there.

Zim gulped and slowly backed away, heading towards the kitchen to grab the phone. He did not feel safe being alone in the house anymore.

The Irken turned around to the kitchen, about to make a run for it. But as soon as he turned his back, something grabbed him from behind and pulled him down to the floor.

"AAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" He screamed in pain as his arms started burning.

Zim quickly pulled up his sleeves to look at his arms, and what he saw terrified him.

There were bite marks all up and down his arms, some with faint teeth marks, going to full out drawing blood.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow." Zim whimpered as he tucked his arms in and quickly made his way to the kitchen.

Once he was in the kitchen, he grabbed the large carving knife and picked up the phone, dialing Dib's number immediately.

" **Hello?** " Dib said on the other side when he finally picked up.

"Dib, can you come home please?" Zim sniffed.

" **Zim? Is that you? What happened?** "

"I was just attacked." Zim cried. "Dib, can you please just come home?"

" **Attacked?! What do you mean? Is there someone in the house?!** "

"Dib, I'm really scared, just please come home." The Irken bawled. "Please, I don't wanna be alone! Just please come home!"

" **Okay, hun. Don't cry. I'm entering the Voot Cruiser right as we speak. I'll be home soon. Just go outside and stay out there until I get home, okay?** "

"Okay."

" **Alright, I'll see you when I get there.** "

Zim sniffed and hung up the phone. He grabbed a few paper towels and walked outside, sitting on the porch until Dib came home.

As he sat on the porch, he used the paper towels to dab away the maroon blood that was seeping from some of the bite marks.

Why had the ghost done that? Why was she becoming so violent? Zim couldn't understand. Was it because he was ignoring her? Why had she hurt him?

Zim looked up from the marks when he heard the Voot Cruiser pull into the driveway. He quickly stood up when Dib exited the ship and the two ran to each other.

"Oh Dib!" Zim cried, jumping into the human's arms and bawling into his shoulder.

"Sh, sh, sh." Dib comforted. "It's okay Zim. I'm here now. I'm here."

"She attacked me. She attacked me."

"What do you mean? What happened?"

"She… She…" Zim sniffed, slowly pulling up his arms. "She bit me."

"Oh my god." Dib gasped upon seeing the marks. "What the hell!"

"It hurts so bad." Zim cried, tears pouring down his face. "Why would she do this?"

"I don't know, Zim." Dib shook his head as he carefully wrapped up Zim's arms with gauze. "But one thing's for sure. We're not staying here tonight. We're gonna rent a motel and stay there for a while. Okay?"

"Okay." Zim nodded, wiping the tears off his face. "We better grab Gir and Minimoose and tell them what happened."

"Good idea." Dib agreed as the two entered the Voot Cruiser and drove away.


	7. The Find

Chapter 7: The Find

Dib had kept his promise and the four were able to rent a motel room at least ten miles away from the house. Zim was curled up in one of the beds, resting peacefully. His arms had finally stopped hurting, and the bite marks were starting to fade away. He moved his arm over, attempting to wrap it around Dib, but was surprised when he realized that Dib was not in bed with him.

He quickly sat up and looked around the room, trying to find his husband.

"Dib?!" He called in a worried tone. "Dib? Where are you?!"

"It's okay Zim, don't get scared. I'm out here." Dib called from the small living room.

Zim exited the tiny bedroom and entered the living room, walking up to his human, who was currently typing on his portable laptop.

"What are you doing out here?" He yawned, rubbing his eye a little bit as he sat down.

"Doing some research on the house and the ghost." Dib answered. "And I think I might've just made a breakthrough."

"Oh yeah? What do you mean?" Zim asked as he looked at the small computer.

"I mean, I think I know who might be haunting us."

"Oh my god, really?" Zim gasped. "Who?"

"Well, are you up for a little history lesson?"

"Anything to know what's going on."

"Well our house was built in 1979, but before that, this house," Dib pulled up a picture of an old looking house that seemed to be all boarded up. "Was on the same property. This house was built in 1870. It was part of the Longacre estate. Now, the Longacres, Henry Longacre, made his money in the steel industry, and he owned all the property around this area, including where our house sits and this house used to sit. He lived in this house with his wife and his daughter, and his daughter's name was Madeline. Now Madeline, from information I found, she had what they classified as fits. Now, I tried to figure out what they meant by that, because when you're dealing with 1870's type of stuff, you really can't find too much. Well, what she probably had was schizophrenia, she saw things that were not there, she would go into convulsions, and she was very sick. Well, what ended up happening was in 1882, she was in the back part of the house, and a fire broke out, and the fire ended up killing her."

"Oh gosh, that's terrible." Zim frowned.

"Yes, it is." Dib nodded. "Her father went into total depression and he did rebuild the house, but they could not stand being in that house. They moved to New York, where they lived, and then the father killed himself, but the mother died painless. Now, you can probably tell from this photo, the house looks kinda boarded up."

"Yeah, no kidding." Zim rolled his eyes.

"Well, this photo is from 1929. There were about four other families that tried to live in this house until it was boarded up and then finally torn down. Every single family that lived in this house only stayed in it for a few years before they left and they ended up selling the house for next to nothing. The last family that stayed in the house was the Fliming family, and they just abandoned the house all together, and that's where this photo came from. No one else tried to live in the house after them, and they ended up tearing it down and then they built the houses that are here now… meaning our house."

"So, you're saying that our house was built on sacred ground, and this Madeline is the one who's haunting us, or more specifically, me?" Zim asked.

"Yes Zim, that's exactly what I'm saying." Dib nodded. "Madeline is described to have been wearing a white dress when she died, and she has long curly black hair. It's the exact description of the our ghost."

"It's also the exact description of the Grudge and the Ring girl." Zim joked.

"Yeah, but you and I both know that there's no such thing."

"So, what do we do now? We know who it is, but why is she haunting me?"

"... I think it's time we found out."


	8. Spirit In The Kitchen

Chapter 8: The Spirit In The Kitchen

The next evening, Zim, Dib, and the robots checked out of the motel and reluctantly drove back to the house. When they got back to the house, Dib pulled them all into the kitchen and they sat down at the table.

"Don't speak, just listen." He ordered everybody. "Now, we may had just made a breakthrough last night and discovered who was haunting Zim. A little girl named Madeline who died by fire back in the 1800s. Now we just need to figure out WHY she's haunting Zim."

With that, Dib pulled out a piece of paper and a pencil, placing them on the table in front of Zim.

"Now, I refuse to use a ouija board, but there is another way you can communicate with her." Dib explained to the Irken. "Just by writing a few questions on this paper, and then leaving it for the ghost to write back an answer."

"Ok then." Zim gulped, taking the paper and pencil. "I'll just start with two simple questions then. The first one, just to get a conformance, I'll ask 'Who are you?'."

"Ok, good." Dib nodded in approval. "And the second one?"

"I'll ask 'What do you want?'." Zim wrote. "Is that good?"

"Yes, that's perfect." Dib nodded, then turned to Gir. "Gir, grab the camera."

"But I thought you said you didn't want her to be recorded anymore." Zim frowned as he watched Gir run into the office to grab the camera.

"I thought she didn't like to be recorded." Dib sighed. "But she obviously doesn't like being ignored, after what happened the other night."

Zim gulped and brought his arms in, whimpering a bit as he gently rubbed them, still feeling a few bite marks trying to heal.

"I wanna be able to keep an eye on her." Dib nodded as he took the camera from Gir when he returned. "No way am I going to let her hurt you again."

"Thank you Dib." Zim smiled warmly. "I hope this works."

"You and I both, Zim." Dib nodded as he began recording. "You and I both. Alright ghost! We're trying to..."

"Wait, Dib!"

"What?"

"The ghost only responds to me, remember." Zim frowned. "Perhaps, I should have the camera and do the talking."

"... Well..." Dib frowned, contemplating it. "... Alright... but I'm sticking to your side."

"Thank you Dib." Zim nodded as he took the camera from his husband. "Alright, so, we're trying to communicate with the ghost. I have this piece of paper in front of me with two questions on it for the ghost to answer. I have asked 'Who are you?' and 'What do you want?'. Hopefully, I'll get an answer."

Suddenly, something banged in the kitchen. The four of them looked up and looked around. Zim brought up the camera and looked around the room, trying see if he could catch a glimpse of the ghost girl. What he got instead, was a visual of one of the cabinets opening and closing repeatedly, making the banging noise.

"I don't understand." Zim frowned as he got up and approached the cabinet. "There's nothing here. Why would she be playing with the cabinet?"

"I don't know." Dib frowned as he walked over.

"Maybe she's trying to distract us so she can write on the paper." Gir theorized. "Maybe she don't want us watching her write."

"Meep." Minimoose agreed.

"It is a good theory." Zim frowned. "Let me see if I can catch a glimpse of her at the table."

So, Zim pulled up the camera and pointed it at the table. He jumped when he caught a glimpse of her standing right next to the paper.

"Oh my gosh!" He gasped as he turned away. "She's over there! Quick, turn away! She doesn't want us watching her."

And so, everybody turned away and waited. It was only a few short seconds before Zim heard a deep groaning in front of him.

The Irken slowly pulled up the camera and looked through the viewfinder. He gave a loud yelp when he saw the ghost literally up in his face, and he stumbled backwards, trying to get away from her.

"Zim!" Dib gasped as he quickly caught his husband. "Are you ok? What happened?"

"She was... she was..." Zim shivered. "She was standing right in front of me. Just... literally up in my face!"

"She better not have been trying to attack you again." Dib growled.

"I don't think so, Dib." Gir shook his head as he approached the table. "I think she was trying to get our attention. Look."

Zim and Dib looked back at the table and at the paper, surprised to see new words written under the questions Zim had wrote.

"She was just trying to tell us that she had finished writing." Zim blinked, approaching the table. "Well then, let's see what she wrote."

With that, both the human and the Irken approached the table and looked at the paper.

"'Who are you?', 'Madeline.'." Zim read the first answer. "Well, I guess that confirms it. This really is the ghost of a little girl that died by fire back in the 1800s."

"Yeah, but what does she want?" Dib frowned.

"'What do you want?'..." Zim gasped and gulped when he saw the answer that was written.

"What? What does it say?" Dib demanded.

"It says... It says..." Zim gulped. "'Die'"

"FFFFFUUUUUUU-"


	9. The Door

Chapter 9: The Door

Three days had passed since they communicated with Madeline. Nothing has happened since then, but Dib still refused to leave Zim alone after learning what it was that the ghost wanted from the Irken. He had called his team, telling them about what was happening and how he would not be coming to work for a while. His team understood and said that they would be fine without him.

The four of them were sitting in the living room, watching a movie together, when there was suddenly a loud noise down in the basement.

"Did you hear that?" Zim gulped.

"I did." Dib nodded as he paused the movie. "Sounded like it came from the basement."

"That's where I first saw her." Zim shivered. "I hope she's not trying to get my attention. I don't wanna be attacked again."

"I'll freakin' exorcise her if she even tries to come near you." Dib hissed. "Just, try to ignore her."

Zim nodded and snuggled up close to the human, turning his attention back to the tv when he unpaused the movie. It was quiet for about five minutes, before another loud bang came from the basement, this one louder than the first one.

"I can't help but feel that she's trying to get my attention." Zim frowned. "But what about?"

"Ignore it, hun." Dib assured. "If you ignore it, then she'll leave us alone."

But just as he said that, another really loud bang came from the basement, this one sounding like someone was trying to knock the door down.

"I can't stand it!" Zim screamed, getting up from the couch and grabbing the camera. "She's trying to get my attention for some reason, and I doubt she's going to stop until I comply to what she needs. I'm going down there."

"In that case, I'm going down with you." Dib frowned, stopping the movie and standing up. "I wanna be there to protect you."

"We're going too, Master!" Gir piped up, standing up from the couch too.

"Meep!" Minimoose also squeaked, floating next to the other robot.

"Thanks guys." Zim smiled, then frowned. "But Madeline is my responsibility. I have to go down there alone."

"We're not leaving you, Zim." Dib argued. "Whether Madeline is your responsibility or not, we're in this together."

Zim smiled. His family really did care about him, especially Dib. The Irken didn't know what he would do without the human. Probably go into depression again like he did when Dib stopped hunting him.

"Then... why don't you three stand at the top of the stairs?" He suggested. "And I'll call you if I need you."

"Well," Dib sighed. "I guess it's better than leaving you alone. ... Alright. We'll stand at the top of the stairs."

Zim smiled and nodded. He turned to the basement door and gulped, pulling up the camera, and started recording.

"I'm a little afraid to open the door, because it sounded like she was literally just on the other side." He admitted.

"I'll open the door," Gir offered. "You stand back, Master."

With that, Gir approached the basement door and slowly opened it. Zim sighed with relief when Madeline wasn't standing on the other side.

"All clear." He sighed. "Right then. Going down the basement... against my better judgement."

"Remember, we're all here in case you need us." Dib assured.

"Meep." Minimoose agreed.

"Thanks guys." Zim sighed before walking down the stairs, staying in the light. "Madeline? Are you down here? ... You're making a lot of noise. Kinda like you're trying to get my attention about something."

There was no sound, but the Irken continued to descend down the stairs anyway.

"Madeline?" He called. "Is there anything I can do so that you're not as noisy anymore?"

Suddenly, a growl erupted behind the Irken, making him spin around and look back up the stairs.

"What's wrong?" Dib asked, concerned already.

"You didn't hear that?" Zim raised an eyebrow.

"No Master, we didn't hear anything." Gir shook his head.

"She... She growled. Right behind me." Zim answered as he slowly walked back up the stairs. "Madeline? Are you up there?"

Suddenly, much to Zim's shock, and Dib and the robots dismay, Madeline suddenly ran right through Dib, the robots, and the door, into the kitchen.

"Oh my god!" Zim gasped as he ran back up the stairs. "She just ran right through you guys!"

"Yeah... we felt it." Dib shivered.

"She went through the door and into the kitchen." Zim frowned. "But she ran in from the living room."

"Meep." Minimoose cried as he looked in the living room.

"What is it, Minimoose?" The Irken asked as the others entered the room, leaving the door open.

When they entered back into the living room, they gasped. The clock was on the floor, facedown.

"Ok, maybe she doesn't like time?" Zim guessed.

"But why?" Dib frowned. "This is becoming so random and weird."

"Madeline?" Zim called panning the camera around the room. "If you're up here, will you please show yourself to the camera?"

There was a garbled moan as Madeline suddenly appeared standing on a table behind the couch, making Zim jump.

"Holy!" He shivered. "She was just standing there, on top of that table."

"Master." Gir gulped. "You might wanna see this."

Zim and Dib turned back to the robots, and were surprised to see books piled up on the floor again, once again, the bible at the top.

"More book stacking I see." Zim gulped.

Suddenly, the basement door slammed shut, causing everyone in the room to jump.

"Ok," Dib shivered. "Maybe it's time to turn off the camera and just get to bed."

"Yeah." Zim nodded. "Yeah, maybe you're right. But..."

"... But what, Zim?" Dib asked. "You can tell me."

"There's one last thing I wanna do."


End file.
